Shameful SFPD Killing of Samoan Gentle Giant "Big O", June 06

> Shameful SFPD Killing of Samoan Gentle Giant "Big O", June 06
> SFPD Killing Spree
>   on Black &Brown,
>           June 2006
>
>
> The man hunt is on, on San Francisco Plantation.
> Survivors:
> Gina Hinton, Black, 28, shot 8 times in July 05 while in a surrendering
> position
> Tyrelle Taylor, Black, 17, shot 5 times in Sept 05, then beaten up
> Marlon Crump, Black, 28, racially profiled
> Melvin Hodges, Black, 40, homeless, beaten up by Homeland Security
> Vivienne Johnson, Black, 48, beaten up by Homeland Security
>
> DEAD
> Craig Holden, Black, 21, left to suffocate to death in SF Bayview Precinct
> without his asthma medicine
> Kathleen Eklund, 33, interracial, shot by CHP while surrendering
> ASA Sullivan, Black, 25, shot numerous times while in a 2 1/2 feet crawling
> space, holding an eye glass case "Mistaken" for a gun
> Oliver Lefiti, 36, Samoan, "suspected drug dealer", no weapons or drugs found
> at the scene.
>
> December 05: The racist, homophobic and genocidal SFPD Bayview Videotapes,
> all 29 of them, filmed on company tie, budget and equipment rock the nation
>
> February 06, month long coverage of SFPD lethal force in the SF Chronicle
>
> June 06 : SFPD Killing of Asa &Big O, 18 days apart. Murderous KKKops on 2
> week paid vacation.
>
> Please join the website set up in support of the family of
>
> Oliver Lefiti, AKA "Big O"
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/justice4BigO/
>
> for background on his shameful killing by SFPD.
>
> This is the second PD murder of a Samoan Warrior in SF.
> Prior, they shot and killed a severely retarded 13 yr. Samoan boy with Down
> Syndrome who was playing with a plastic water gun...
>
> Big O has been demonized in the corporate press, portrayed as a "suspected
> drug dealer", although no weapons or drugs were found at the scene. No
> community/PD liaison has been activated for the past 2 weeks to
> give answers to his
> family, who courageously steps up to the plate and demands Justice.
>
> Big O was a reformed man who was active in his community, deterring the Youth
> from street life.
>
> In Struggle &Solidarity
>
> mesha Irizarry
> Site moderator
> (415) 595-8251
> http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo9ewi/idrissstelleyfoundation/
>
>
> Also check on another shameful SFPD killing , 2 weeks before Big O:
>
> Asa Sullivan
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/justice4ASA/

Iranian Anti-Censorship Crusader Accepts Censorship at Amnesty International

http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/pourzal190706.html
Iranian Anti-Censorship Crusader Accepts Censorship at Amnesty International

by Rostam Pourzal

At a press conference today, journalist Akbar Ganji had just finished vilifying the "intolerant culture" of non-Europeans when he failed to intervene against Western censorship happening right before his eyes. He is touring the United States to, in his words, raise awareness about government abuses in Iran, including his six-year imprisonment that ended last March. The other constant theme of his campaign has been the glorification of Western "achievements." For his "courage," he has received numerous press freedom awards from European, Canadian, and American intellectual and media associations.

Ganji was the attraction at the posh Washington office of Amnesty International today, where several awe-struck staffers joined a dozen admiring reporters and Iranian backers of Ganji around a conference table. No sooner had I placed copies of this open letter addressed to him on the table at the conclusion of the press conference than the same were snatched up by an AI enforcer, who told me I needed prior permission to have my freedom of _expression. Apparently the AI careerist was alarmed by doubts I had raised earlier in the session about Ganji's tour. After all, if inconsistencies in the stories told in Amnesty's fundraising were to become public, could budget cuts and staff layoffs be far behind?

The staffer began to show me (registered as a reporter) the door but relented when I informed him that I was an AI member. I reminded him that, if expressing diverse opinions at AI required official approval, we should not be criticizing Iran's theocracy for censorship. But he would not let the reporters see my letter.

Ganji looked on but chose not to ask me for a copy of the letter or ask his AI hosts to respect my freedom of _expression. Presumably, human rights are so safe in a Western "democracy" that he did not trust his eyes as he witnessed AI's censorship! When he returns to Iran, of course he will tell tall tales of total press freedom in America. But he will not mention that no reporter at today's press conference defended my unorthodox take on Ganji. His Iranian cohorts will no doubt agree that the consensus of corporate careerists is "democracy."
Ganji has risen to mythic stature in the eyes of elitist Iranian "pro-democracy" activists and Western seekers of "moderate Muslims" because six years in an Iranian prison have not dimmed his enthusiasm for neo-liberal policies. Associated Press quoted him the other day as advocating the privatization of Middle East's oil resources: "Ganji said that, until oil revenues are wrested from state hands, there will be virtually no democratic nations in the Middle East."

In other words, the "human rights activist" dreams of a day when the nationalization of Iranian oil, for which Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in 1953 by the CIA , can be reversed. If Ganji's recommended path to "democracy" sounds familiar, that is because it is identical to the American plan for Iraqi oil , first revealed during the tenure of Paul Bremmer. For reasons like this, Ganji has drawn little sympathy in Iran outside the struggling reformist (anti-populist) movement. He must therefore appeal to what he calls the West's "civil society" (read: shadow government) and Iranians living abroad for help.

This should not come as a surprise because, like the ultra-right former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her guru Friedrich von Hayek, Ganji extols Karl Popper's elitist philosophy of freedom throughout his writings , little of which have been translated from Farsi. Thatcher and Hayek supported Chile's mass murderer, General Augusto Pinochet, because he restored market "freedom" in his country with the help of CIA.

Ganji is not the first Iranian opposition activist who thinks like Margaret Thatcher and yet declares, when he is cornered, that he admires social democracy! But he is the one most embraced by Western libertarian circles. Rumor has it that Noam Chomsky, who last year added his name to a petition demanding Ganji's release from prison, has agreed to meet with him . If true, that should be an interesting meeting, because Ganji has consistently called for deregulation and the shrinking of government in Iran, as did Chomsky's nemesis, the late President Ronald Reagan.

(Puerto Rico is a colony of the U$ and it the policies of the colonial power that lead to its rates of imprisonment referred to below)



SOURCE: The International Centre for Prison Studies, "Entire World -- Prison Population Rates per 100,000 of the National Population," Accessed on 19 July 2006

Download the chart and data as an Excel file .

The Open Letter Confiscated by Amnesty International:
America's Own Political Prisoners Rot While You Grab the Spotlight, Akbar Ganji

As family members and friends of a few of America's political prisoners, we are alarmed that you have brought your campaign for prisoner rights in Iran to our country. You revive the legacy of pitiful Soviet defectors used by the Washington elite to justify wasting our nation's budget on subsidies for "defense" contractors. The attention showered on you and other worshippers of so-called Western "freedom" keeps America's own dissidents cast as unpatriotic at the margins of public debate.

In the books and numerous articles you have authored, you have made clear your fascination with member countries of the NATO military pact. You have also spoken with admiration of Western meddling in Ukraine, the so-called "Orange Revolution."

President Bush appreciates your support, as he desperately needs to divert attention from America's kidnap and torture of resisters here and abroad. In a White House statement aimed at the government of Iran last year, he declared that "America stands with you," Mr. Ganji. Former Israeli cabinet minister, Natan Sharansky , who campaigns nonstop for the confiscation of Palestinian land by Jewish settlers, joined President Bush to demand your release from prison in Iran.

You have called for regime change in Iran and hope your publicity in New York and Washington will help democratic aspirations in your country. But theatrics like your "hunger strike" at the UN is drawing attention away from a 465-page condemnation of the US government conduct sent to the UN by a coalition of leading human rights organizations (see www.ushrnetwork.org ).

We have thousands of political prisoners in the United States who are ignored by our media. Unlike you, they do not have wealthy benefactors to fly them around the country and the globe. With 2.2 million prisoners , America is certified as having the world's highest rate of incarceration . We would like you to help us while you are in the spotlight by discussing police brutality and prisoner torture in our country, too. After all, as you have said "No one is free until all are free." Iranians have as much right to interfere in the internal affairs of the United States as vice versa, even if the almighty West were "the cradle of civilization," as you told the Voice of America in a recent interview.

Your campaign makes clear that you believe only the world's most dangerous (in your words, "advanced") countries deserve national sovereignty. This is why you are here asking the West for "moral support" against your government. We remind you that similar pleas by Kosovo "dissidents" preceded 78 days of intense bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO. An example of such expansive "humanism" is Reporters Without Borders , which hosted you last week with great fanfare in Paris. The organization relies on funding from an American government entity called the National Endowment for Democracy, whose largesse has supported a number of disgruntled Iranian "intellectuals."

We wish the outspoken American journalist, Mumia Abu Jamal , could get attention from Reporters Without Borders like you do, Mr. Ganji. He has been on death row in Pennsylvania for 23 years on fabricated charges because he speaks truth to power IN THIS COUNTRY. But Reporters Without Borders specializes in embarrassing governments targeted with orange and purple revolutions only, where NED spends millions to incite "pro-democracy activists" like you.

If you have come here to stand with America's power elite -- our people's jailers -- our message to you is "Ganji Go Home!"

Ron Romelo, J. J. Amistad, Lisa Sedmark, Will Harrison, and Rostam Pourzal


Based in Washington DC, Rostam Pourzal writes regularly on the politics of human rights. MRZine has also published Pourzal's "Market Fundamentalists Lose in Iran (For Now)" (3 August 2005); "Open Letter to Iran's Nobel Laureate" (27 February 2006); "Open Letter to Iran's Nobel Laureate: Part 2" (9 March 2006); "The Shah: America's Nuclear Poster Boy" (25 May 2006); "Iranian Cold Warriors in Sheep's Clothing" (20 May 2006); "MEK Tricks US Progressives, Gains Legitimacy" (12 June 2006); "What Really Happened in Tehran on June 12? Did Human Rights Watch Get It Wrong?" (18 June 2006); and "Iran's Western Behavior Deserves Criticism" (24 June 2006).

Three suspected anarchists arrested in Greece

Three suspected anarchists arrested in Greece

Greek police on Tuesday announced the arrest of three suspected
members of the urban guerrilla group "Anti-Fascist Action", believed
to be responsible for a series of arsonist attacks since 1994.

The three were caught in the early hours of Monday morning at
Omonia, downtown Athens, after a man set alight a National Bank
of Greece ATM.

The fire was set by a 32-year-old man on a moped, who doused the
ATM with a flammable liquid and set it on fire. Police investigating the
attack caught up with the three, aged 27, 30 and 31, in a delivery van
in Omonia and they admitted their involvement under questioning.
Two of the three arrested also have previous arrests for arson and
other charges.

A search is on for the man that caused the ATM fire and the woman
owner of the moped he was riding.

The fingerprints of the 32-year-old were also found on a canister of
flammable liquid used in a fire set at the Royalist National Organization
two days before.

Responsibility for both attacks was claimed by "Anti-Fascist Action"
in a phone call to the newspaper "Eleftherotypia".

The same group has also claimed responsibility for a series of other
arsonist attacks in the past 10 years.

Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/26/eng20060726_286828.html

In My Time-By Tom Manning

In My Time

By Tom Manning, US Political Prisoner

I became aware through newspaper photographs that the prison cells built by

KBR/Halliburton at Guantanamo Bay [Gitmo] do not have plumbing. That surprised
me, considering the price that KBR/Halliburton charged the U.S. tax payers for those cells.

In the early sixties I was a Seabee in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Quonset Pointl/Davisville,
Rhode Island, with Mobile Construction Battalion One [MCB #1].

We were deployed for sea duty, to Gitmo, to build emergency housing for ten thousand
Cuban refugees that America anticipated would flee Cuba for the confines of Gitmo, in 1958,
when Fidel liberated this Island nation. It took nine months to complete, and was named
"Tin City."

We dredged hundreds of tons of living coral from the ocean in proximity to the base, and
deposited it in a lagoon that was enlarged to accommodate the project. The coral was
crushed and leveled to form a floor surrounded by cliff-like excavated walls on three
sides, with one side remaining open toward the sea.

Then the housing was built, of Quonset huts, which are corrugated tin barrel-like dwellings
in groups, or pods, of nine huts; eight sleeping huts with no plumbing surrounding a ninth
hut that was supplied with fresh water and sewage. I worked on the plumbing, from digging
the supply and waste ditches, then leveling them, to laying in the supply and waste pipes
and septic tanks and leach fields. I was on the crews that installed twelve toilets, twelve
wash basins and twelve head shower rooms, in each central (9th) hut.

During our time in Cuba, we had to adapt to the blistering heat by working tropical hours;
working from 5 in the morning, until 2 in the afternoon, with a half hour lunch and two 15
minute breaks. We further, voluntarily opted to forgo the lunch and 2 breaks so that we
could get off the job site by 1 PM, due to the mid-day heat.

Given this personal knowledge of the area, and recognizing the surrounding terrain in the
current news photos as the old Seabee/Kittery Beach area, my initial thought was that it
would be terrible to be confined in a metal cage there, without adequate water.

Add to that, being at the mercy of young, poorly trained military personnel, for what water
you do get, and what toilet access you get.

I have been held in cells during my time in U.S. prisons [24 years, 6 months, at this writing]
without water or toilet a number of times. I have been subjected to the whims of whatever
guards happened to be working the block on any given shift. I know that having a guard that
consistently acts in a proper manner is the exception, not the rule.

While thinking about how to write about these thoughts and observations, concerning water,
the pictures from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, have come out. And the information and pictures
continue to come.

Automatically my mind goes into replay mode.

During my time in U.S. prisons my right knee has been permanently damaged by being stomped
on during a cell beating by five guards [Walpole State Prison, Ten Block DSU,

1969]. The leg was up on a bunk while I was on my back on the floor with several guards
"monkey piling" me, another guard stomped the knee, hyper-extending it, causing me to pass
out from the pain. After that, I only had 15% flex of the knee, until I had it surgically corrected,
when I got out of prison in 1971.

Shortly after being captured in 1985, I was body slammed onto a concrete floor while cuffed to
a waist-chain, with black-boxed handcuffs and leg irons. That resulted in a fractured hip that
wasn't repaired until 1999 with a total artificial left hip replacement.

The Motrin I took for pain in the intervening years gave me ulcers and damaged my kidneys,
which now function at less than 50% efficiency. I've often had to take iron pills to overcome
anemia, caused by internal bleeding, and am currently on calcium pills to make up for the
calcium my kidneys are spilling.

My shoulders have both been severely damaged during beatings, while I was cuffed behind
my back, during forced blood takings. This resulted in surgery on both shoulders. These joint
surgeries on the knee, hip and shoulders, is evidenced by twenty one collective inches of
surgical scars, not counting three orthoscopic surgeries.

I have been stun-gunned twelve times in one night, resulting in temporary paralysis of my
left side, like a stroke. And then, on two other occasions I was also stun-gunned, once each time.

I have been photographed naked numerous times in Federal prison, and also by NJ State
police and the FBI; gratuitously strip searched uncountable times.

Dragged and slung around by leg irons, into walls and up and down stairs.

Strapped to a gurney with my head overhanging the front, and then run through the
prison; rammed into every door-frame or door and comers.

Tear gassed in my cell at least six times.

Forced to exit my cell naked, with my fingers laced on top of my head and told by a
squad of six ninja-turtle suited guards that if I lowered my arms it would be considered
an act of aggression and treated accordingly, while a German Shepherd dog was barking
so close to my genitals that I could feel his breath and spittle striking me. Then forced to
run down six flights of stairs, like that, with a dog and handler at every landing, shepherding us along.

The group that I was in was then herded into a large visiting room where all
24 of us stayed, naked, from 2 AM, until 8 AM, while our cells were wrecked; our
personal property destroyed.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been left in cells for hours while black-box
handcuffed and leg ironed; spending as much as 17 and 20 hours in such restraints
during transport and waiting delays, with no water and no toilet access. I have numb
areas on my hands, wrists and ankles, from this treatment, and from being kept in
control unit prisons for years, locked down for 23 hours or more a day; never less
than this (6 years in NJ; 3 years at Marion; 3 years at ADX, Florence; and 2 years in
Walpole, MA in the 1960's) for a total of 14 years of lock down.

So pardon my being unpleasantly bemused at the "shocked and amazed" reaction
of the U.S. public to this most recent "scandal." I'll be interested to see how long
"the public's" attention can be focused on this one. And I invite every prisoner, and
ex-prisoner, who reads this to sit down and write out and send out her/his own experiences
of imprisonment and abuse. OR, tell of the most memorable abuse you witnessed.

Example: when I was newly arrived at Trenton NJ's control unit, I heard laughter and
whimpering. I looked out of my cell to see a very fat, young white prisoner stretched
out on the floor, his arms extended beyond his head, hands cuffed and legs shackled.
His shirt was pulled up, off his body, over his head and onto his arms, his pants were
down around his ankles, leaving him naked from calves to forearms. Guards were
standing on his restraints on both ends, and a baton was protruding from his rectum.
Nobody else in the control unit cells was responding. I went nuts, screaming and
kicking my cell door. I believe that over my years in MCU, I helped break through
the apathy of the prisoners, and have heightened the resistance to such treatment.
Of course, the treatment was worsened, accordingly.

But then, I would rather die on my feet than linger on my knees.

The Struggle Continues!

Tom Manning #10373-016

Albany Democrat-Herald editorial on Green Scare pleas

The editorial below is from The Albany Democrat-Herald yesterday.

Perhaps people would like to respond.

Mailbag Guidelines: The editor welcomes letters on issues of
public interest. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.

Letters can be submitted by mail:
Mailbag Democrat-Herald
PO Box 130, Albany OR 97321
Fax: (541) 926-4799

You may also respond by using the form at:

http://www.mvonline.com/support/contact/DHedletters.php

**

http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2006/07/24/news/opinion/edit01.txt

No 'eco' in this gang

Federal investigators in Oregon and across the country deserve credit for
their persistence in running to ground the so-called ecoterrorists of “The Family.”

Their efforts were crowned with success when several members of the cell
were arrested over the last several months, and again last week, in federal
court in Eugene, with the guilty pleas of some of those charged. They will
now be available to testify in the trials of the rest.

The press has called these people ecoterrorists because they supposedly had
the motive of saving the earth, which sounds kind of lofty. But actually,
they destroyed property without rhyme or reason. None of their actions
saved any part of the earth. Nothing they did resulted in any easing of the
plight of animals in our society.

They bombed installations such as wild-horse corrals in Burns, a federal
plant inspection station in Washington state, and a lumber company office
in Monmouth. They also torched a lumber mill office in Glendale and a truck
dealer in Eugene. In all, they launched 16 firebombings or other attacks
between 1997 and 2001.

Predictably, their actions proved pointless. Meat eating was not reduced. The
fate of domestic animals was not improved. In attacking research laboratories,
they destroyed material intended to improve the environment by better farming practices.

If they had wanted to make a difference, they would have had to do the heavy
lifting that people in the traditional activist groups do, to a sometimes
aggravating degree: arguing, writing, campaigning, picketing and even
filing the occasional suit.

The Northwest firebombers may claim that their attacks were planned to
destroy property, not hurt people. Even if true, that would be no excuse. They
could never have been certain that an unexpected visitor would not be trapped
by one of their arson attacks, or that firefighters would not be be injured or
killed doing their duty in fires the arsonists had caused.

These raiders, in other words, were just plain criminals and deserve no more
respect than that.

Like other dangerous criminals, they also deserve prison terms when they
appear for sentencing later this year. (hh)

Support the Cuban 5

In solidarity with the Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5
and the Cuban 5, we are forwarding the announcement  for the Sept.
12th demonstration and the International Call for the "Free the Five
Month."

FREE THE CUBAN 5!!  FREE THE PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS!!
The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign


The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5
http://www.freethecuban5.com
freethecubanfive@hotmail.com
Free the Cuban 5 Hotline: 718-601-4751

*******************************************************************************
FREE THE CUBAN 5!! Rally and March to demand the freedom of the Cuban 5

TUESDAY SEPT. 12TH AT 4PM!!
GATHER AT TIMES SQUARE U.S. MILITARY RECRUITMENT CENTER (42nd St. and Times
Square) AND THEN MARCH TO THE DAG HAMERSKJOLD PLAZA (E47th St. and 1st Ave.)

Bring your flags, banners and noisemakers!!

On Sept. 12th, 1998, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino Fernando Gonzalez,
Rene Gonzalez, and Antonio Guerrero were arrested and spent 17 months in
solidarity confinement!! They were convicted in a politically charged trial
in Miami in June 2001 for engaging in espionage and threatening national
security.

Nothing could be further from the truth!! The Cuban 5 infiltrated
Cuban-American right-wing terrorist organizations based in Miami to monitor
their actions and to protect the national sovereignty of their homeland Cuba
and to safeguard the American people from terrorist actions within the
United States.

Join us on Tuesday Sept. 12th as we demand the freedom of these innocent
men!!

Demand Visitation Rights for the Cuban 5!!

Extradite CIA Agent Luis Posada Carriles!!

For more information on the Cuban 5 Rally/March call 718-601-4751 or email
freethecubanfive@hotmail.com

The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5, IFCO/Pastors for
Peace, Casa de Las Américas, Jericho New York City, The ProLibertad
Freedom Campaign, The Venceremos Brigade, Jane Franklin, Cuba
Solidarity New York, The Free Jeff Luers Support Group, Puerto Rican
Alliance of Los Angeles , US Women & Cuba Collaboration, Queers
United In Solidarity with Latin America & the Caribbean, New York
Comittee to Free the Cuban Five, Iglésia San Romero de Las
Américas-UCC, Padre Luis Barrios, Dr. James D. Cockcroft, World
Council of UNESCO-Sponsored José Martí World Solidarity Project,
Comité Fabio Di Celmo pourles 5 (Montréal), Intellectuals and Artists
in Defense of Humanity, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition NYC, Alberto
Loveria, Bolivarian Circle, Bay Area Jericho Amnesty Movement,
Caribbean & Latin American Support Project, New Paltz, NY, Latin@s
For/Por Mumia, All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC)Pan
African Roots, ANSWER Coalition, Young Socialists, Amina & Amiri
Baraka, and Harry Nier, Esq., Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico,
Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico – Comité de Nueva York, Socialist
Worker’s Party, Mariana Nogales Molinelli, Humacao, Puerto Rico,
Kirby MacLaurin, Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha Chairman, We The People
United Bangladesh, Enrique Ferro, Peace Activist for a Just Peace in
the Middle East, Belgium, Action Center For Justice, Charlotte, NC
28210, GUYANESE-AMERICAN WORKERS UNITED, Dick Meyer (Individual), M.
Alexander (Individual), Jeffrey Segal, Louisville, Ky, KarEn
Presidency, Tina Flores of Quality Medical Relief International-World
Wide Medical Team, Dr. Carl F. Selnes (MSgt Ret.), Walla Walla, WA,
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring Southern California District, Cindy
McCallum, National Director, Canadian Union of Postal Workers,
Prairie Region, he Philadelphia Committee to Free the Five, Emily
Coffey, Denver, Colorado, Free People's Movement & Revolutionary
Youth, Michael Parenti, Ph.D., Zarah Little, Professor Hernan
Lopez-Garay, University of Los Andes Venezuela, Zig Zag Young Women’s
Resource Centre Inc. Australia, Eugene Hernandez, Dorinda Moreno,
hitec aztec communications/elders of 4 colors 4 directions, John
Gilbert, U.S. Citizens Against War (Florence, Italy) RSU and FLC-CGIL
University of Florence, Peoples Video Network, Sue Harris producer of
Poison Dust, LEONARD D. SANFORD , JR. Waldorf MD, Workers
International League, The Western MA International Action Center,
Shel and Millie Plotkin, Sociologists without Borders – US, Erica
Anthony-Benavides, Trinity University alumnus, Günter  Belchaus,
Germany, PoetsWest J. Glenn & Barbara Evans, Seattle, DR. D. K.
CINQUEMANI, LARGO, FL, Michael Briguglio, Malta, Leslie Feinberg,
Steering Committee of LGBT Caucus, National Writers Union/UAW, The
American-Iranian Friendship Committee, Michael Kuzma, Esq, Leonard
Peltier's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Michael McIrvin, The
British Columbia Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines,
Veterans for Peace Chapter 32 in Miami, Florida, Ricardo Corrales
Sáenz, Erica Anthony-Benavides, Trinity University alumnus, Roger
Dittmann California State University/Fullerton, Los Angeles Friends
of Monthly Review, Nicholas Camerota, Prof. of Philosophy & Political
Theory, Springfield (Mass.) Technical Community College, Laura Beach,
Healdsburg, CA , DR. D. K. CINQUEMANI LARGO, FL , West 104 Street
Tenants Assn, Canadian Section of the Women's International League
for Freedom (WILPF) Terry McClain, Oakland, CA, Patrick Henry
Democratic Club, and The New Black Panther Party (LIST IN FORMATION)

******************************************************************************

To the Movement in support of Justice and Freedom,

Endorsers list a tthe bootm of the Call!!

Please send your endorsement to: FreetheCubanfive@hotmail.com and circulate
this call widely. PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU CAN SCHEDULE YOUR EVENT
BETWEEN SEPT. 12TH-OCT. 6TH, 2006.

JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR JUSTICE FOR THE CUBAN 5 AND THEIR FAMILIES
SEPTEMBER 12 – OCTOBER 6, 2006

Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and
Rene Gonzalez, have been unjustly imprisoned in U.S. federal penitentiaries
since the fall of 1998. Their crime? Fighting terrorism.

Since 1998 their imprisonment has been determined to be arbitrary and
illegal by a unanimous decision of a five member panel of U.N. human rights
experts. Their convictions were reversed by a unanimous decision of three
judges of the Atlanta Court of Appeals. Those decisions were announced in
May 2005 and August 2005, but the Five Cubans are still in prison subjected
to cruel and unusual treatment with severe violations of their human rights,
including the denial of visas to the wives of Gerardo and Rene.

Three federal judges for 16 months examined the prejudicial and illegal
practices that characterized their trial in Miami. In their 93 page decision
they concluded unanimously that Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon
Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez were victims of an
unprecedented bias, which denied them their fundamental right to a fair
trial. Their ruling set aside each and every one of their convictions. It
was a great victory, but not one that Washington and its friends in Miami
could accept. Such a powerful statement by one of the highest - if not the
most conservative - courts in the United States outraged those ordinarily
unchallenged makers of Cuban policy and compelled them, in desperation, to
resort to a rarely used legal tactic to appeal the decision.

We are now awaiting word on whether or not the federal appellate court in
Atlanta will hold firm to its' initial determination.

Two months ago, Ricardo Alarcon, the President of the Cuban Parliament,
urged that a period starting September 12th and ending October 6th be used
to break down the silence surrounding the case of the Cuban Five as well as
to condemn all terrorism and demand justice for its victims.

Whether it was sending medical brigades, sending scientific experts, or
training future physicians, Cuba has always responded to the needs of the
international community. Now, it is our turn to stand in support of Cuba
and its call to Free the Cuban 5.

We call upon all of you to join in the international campaign against US
sponsored terrorism from September 12 to October the 6, 2006, by:

• Endorsing this call for a period of activities from September 12th to
October 6th of this year to educate and rally public support for the freedom
of Fernando Gonzalez, Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Antonio Guerrero
and Rene Gonzalez and to demand that their families be allowed to visit
them; ADD YOUR ORGANIZATION TO THE LIST BELOW!!

• Discuss scheduling an event in your church, school, political
organization, solidarity group, or community organization during The Free
the Five Month; we need to fill this 25 day period with activitres
throughout NYC and throughout the United States.

• Contact The Free the Cuban 5 Organizing Committee for resources, which can
help to organize your event and to coordinate with others building the
Freedom Calendar for the 5.

Please send your endorsement to: FreetheCubanfive@hotmail.com and circulate
this call widely. PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU CAN SCHEDULE YOUR EVENT
BETWEEN SEPT. 12TH-OCT. 6TH, 2006

The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5, IFCO/Pastors for
Peace, Casa de Las Américas, Jericho New York City, The ProLibertad
Freedom Campaign, The Venceremos Brigade, Jane Franklin, Cuba
Solidarity New York, The Free Jeff Luers Support Group, Puerto Rican
Alliance of Los Angeles , US Women & Cuba Collaboration, Queers
United In Solidarity with Latin America & the Caribbean, New York
Comittee to Free the Cuban Five, Iglésia San Romero de Las
Américas-UCC, Padre Luis Barrios, Dr. James D. Cockcroft, World
Council of UNESCO-Sponsored José Martí World Solidarity Project,
Comité Fabio Di Celmo pourles 5 (Montréal), Intellectuals and Artists
in Defense of Humanity, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition NYC, Alberto
Loveria, Bolivarian Circle, Bay Area Jericho Amnesty Movement,
Caribbean & Latin American Support Project, New Paltz, NY, Latin@s
For/Por Mumia, All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC)Pan
African Roots, ANSWER Coalition, Young Socialists, Amina & Amiri
Baraka, and Harry Nier, Esq., Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico,
Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico – Comité de Nueva York, Socialist
Worker’s Party, Mariana Nogales Molinelli, Humacao, Puerto Rico,
Kirby MacLaurin, Mohammad Basirul Haq Sinha Chairman, We The People
United Bangladesh, Enrique Ferro, Peace Activist for a Just Peace in
the Middle East, Belgium, Action Center For Justice, Charlotte, NC
28210, GUYANESE-AMERICAN WORKERS UNITED, Dick Meyer (Individual), M.
Alexander (Individual), Jeffrey Segal, Louisville, Ky, KarEn
Presidency, Tina Flores of Quality Medical Relief International-World
Wide Medical Team, Dr. Carl F. Selnes (MSgt Ret.), Walla Walla, WA,
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring Southern California District, Cindy
McCallum, National Director, Canadian Union of Postal Workers,
Prairie Region, he Philadelphia Committee to Free the Five, Emily
Coffey, Denver, Colorado, Free People's Movement & Revolutionary
Youth, Michael Parenti, Ph.D., Zarah Little, Professor Hernan
Lopez-Garay, University of Los Andes Venezuela, Zig Zag Young Women’s
Resource Centre Inc. Australia, Eugene Hernandez, Dorinda Moreno,
hitec aztec communications/elders of 4 colors 4 directions, John
Gilbert, U.S. Citizens Against War (Florence, Italy) RSU and FLC-CGIL
University of Florence, Peoples Video Network, Sue Harris producer of
Poison Dust, LEONARD D. SANFORD , JR. Waldorf MD, Workers
International League, The Western MA International Action Center,
Shel and Millie Plotkin, Sociologists without Borders – US, Erica
Anthony-Benavides, Trinity University alumnus, Günter  Belchaus,
Germany, PoetsWest J. Glenn & Barbara Evans, Seattle, DR. D. K.
CINQUEMANI, LARGO, FL, Michael Briguglio, Malta, Leslie Feinberg,
Steering Committee of LGBT Caucus, National Writers Union/UAW, The
American-Iranian Friendship Committee, Michael Kuzma, Esq, Leonard
Peltier's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Michael McIrvin, The
British Columbia Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines,
Veterans for Peace Chapter 32 in Miami, Florida, Ricardo Corrales
Sáenz, Erica Anthony-Benavides, Trinity University alumnus, Roger
Dittmann California State University/Fullerton, Los Angeles Friends
of Monthly Review, Nicholas Camerota, Prof. of Philosophy & Political
Theory, Springfield (Mass.) Technical Community College, Laura Beach,
Healdsburg, CA , DR. D. K. CINQUEMANI LARGO, FL , West 104 Street
Tenants Assn, and The New Black Panther Party (LIST IN FORMATION)

British anti-hunt prisoners

Urgent ELP! Bulletin (25th July 2006)

Dear friends

Today three well known British animal rights activists, Natasha
Avery, Heather Nicholson and Daniel Wadham were convicted of carrying
out public disorder offence against a fox hunting family and where
sentenced to imprisonment.

As ELP understands the case, the three where, on the day in question,
innocently walking along a road, minding their own business when they
noticed a car displaying pro-hunt stickers.  Outraged by such a
blatent incitement to illegal activity (fox hunting is illegal in
Britain) the three decided to express their views on the subject. 
The family inside the car phoned the police.

Sadly the police did not uphold the law and arrest the people who
advocated the illegal killing of foxes for their own perverse blood
lusts, but instead decided to arrest the three animal rights
activists instead under two separate public order offences.

ELP feels strongly that the prosecution against these three was
highly politically motivated and designed to stop these three
individuals from their lawful campaigning activities (it is well
known that all three are involved with the international SHAC
campaign).  And sadly the sentences confirm our suspicions.

Heather and Nat were sentenced to 16 months imprisonment.  Dan was
sentenced to 12 months.

Please send urgent letters of support to:

Natasha Avery (new prisoner)
UKDS Bronzefield
Woodthorpe Road
Ashford
Middlesex
TW15 3JZ
England

Heather Nicholson (NR7271)
UKDS Bronzefield
Woodthorpe Road
Ashford
Middlesex
TW15 3JZ
England

Daniel Wadham (new prisoner)
HMP and YOI Feltham
Bedfont Road
Middlesex
TW13 4ND
England

PLEASE NOTE:  Heather has already served several months on remand
awaiting this trial and is therefore due to be released on 11 August
2006.   However she welcomes letters of support and would love to
hear from you.

==========

British Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England

Support Bill Dunne

Greetings Comrades & Friends;

Last night I got a call from our comrade and political prisoner Bill Dunne
(down since 1979), who asked if Jericho and comrades could help get the
prison administrators off his back. Bill has been down since 79 and is at
Atwater federal prison, Atwater Ca. Bill has been in the hole for over 3
months and hasn't got any review from the administration regarding his
"charges".

In fact, he has been threatened with a transfer to the control prison at
Marion, IL (he was there in the 90's) or to ADMAX in Florence, Co. He
and other comrades were its first prisoners in 2000.

Bill's problems stem from the fact that he is a prison activist and
advocate for himself and other prisoners, which drives the administrators
to retaliate rather than deal with the prison problems.

So please take a few minutes and do some calling or e-mailing to help
him get some breathing room.

A 2 step plan:

1. Call 209-386-0257 or e-mail (ATW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV)
the Warden, Mr. D. Smith, his case manager John DeVere or the assistant
warden, Belinda Avalos--she will put you on voice mail rather then answer
questions. The question is "WHY IS BILL DUNNE 10916-086 STILL
IN THE HOLE?” If they say he is awaiting transfer, Ask them again why
he was put in the hole in the first place and when will he get his hearing?
If you don't get any satisfaction, go to step 2

2. The Western Regional office is in Dublin, CA and you can ask the same
question to Director Mr. J.E. Gunja at 925-803-4700 or e-mail at
WXRO/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

Please let us know if you get a response from the administration as Bill's
family is trying to get a lawyer to visit to let them know that we are
concerned for one of our own ... in Bill’s words: The Future Holds
Promise.

Paulette NYC Jericho 718-220-6004
kazi Toure National Jericho

I have included a short piece from
http://www.infoshop.org/wiki/index.php/Bill_Dunne

I see that road running not only through traditional forms of struggle,
but also in new and innovative directions. Creating an alternative
socio-economic base of collective living and working situations is one.
That will help us drive past the apparatus of repression's increasing
capacity to co-opt and suppress older forms of struggle and develop our
theory and practice in the process. The diverse organs of that base will
grow together into a body politic of interwoven free zones, displacing
ruling class institutions with our own.

Toward attaining that destination, we need to cooperate in creating a new
revolutionary praxis synthesizing the lessons of the past and a clear
analysis of the present. With mutual struggle, we can weld the diverse
elements of our side of the barricade into a powerful weapon against the
depredations of imperial capital. Our overwhelming human commonality
can and must make it an all people's tool of emancipation from the class enemy
that afflicts us all."

(January 12, 1998)

Vegan Dinner Fundraiser with Rob Los Ricos, Sunday 07/30 in Seattle

Hello there, Northwest supporters of incarcerated
comrades-Our friend Rob (Los Ricos) Thaxton has been
released from prison,following nearly eight years behind
bars for 'perpetrating' an act of self defense. As much
(if not more) an anarchist as the day he was taken from
us, Rob is now embarking on a speaking tour and will be
in Seattle thisweekend to talk about his experiences and
perspectives. On friday the 28th, as many of you know, Rob
will be speaking at Wayward Cafe (detailsbelow)- but just
announced is a Sunday (07/30) vegan dinner fundraiser and
Q&A with Rob:

Sunday July 30 @ 6pm
Vegan Dinner and Q&A with Rob Los Ricos Thaxton
Plus surprise film showing at 9pm
Suggested donation $20-$100 per person
Location TBA (with reservations)

There is limited space available for people who want to
demonstrate their solidarity and break bread with Rob on
sunday night. To confirm your attendance please email
Joe Ball at freejoeball@riseup.net or call 206.508.1406-
We hope to hear from you soon and see you on Sunday!

To make a donation to Rob Thaxton, or arrangements for
future speaking engagements, please contact Marlena Gangi
at 503.493.2505


ABOUT ROB (LOS RICOS) THAXTON (from www.roblosricos.net):

The self described ‘one hit wonder anarchist rock star’
Rob ‘Los Ricos’ Thaxton wasn't always a rebellious ‘rock star’,
or an anarcho-activist, or a "punk" political prisoner. There
was a time, not that long ago, when he was just another chavo
chicano growing up in some forgotten field town called Pampa,
Texas, Watching rebels, reformists, rioters, racketeers, and
real rock stars tap dance across his tv screen. But while
changing channels, culture, capitalism, corporatization, and
the clarion call of chaos came crashing down in the form of the
radicalizing revelations of the terroristic Tet Offensive; the
political proclamation ‘No Vietnamese ever called me nigger’ of
black (power) boxing champ Muhammad Ali; and finally, the
seditious  inspiration of the women fighters of the radical
Weather underground  who seized his catholic grade school for
two years when he was a child.  By the righteous (r)age of
twelve, Rob began to work with various  revolutionary organizations,
and eventually left Pampa for the streets of Dallas, Texas, where
he joined CISPES (the Committee in solidarity with the People of
El Salvador), worked with ACT UP, and KNON-FM, a peoples (Pirate)
radio station, where he served as program
director.

In the early 90s, as Rob Thaxton began to fade into a memory, and Rob Los
Ricos entered the forefront of a radicalized reality, he began to delve
deeper into the history of the international anarchist movement, and once
again relocated, this time to Austin, Texas, to engage in anarcho-specific
activity. He began to focus his political energy into (dis)organizing with
the small anarchist movement that existed in Austin, and also worked with
The Palestine Solidarity Committee, Earth First!, The Black Banner
Brigade, and organized street protests against the gulf war and direct
actions against globalization.

But the mute mainstream media silence over any opposition to the war, and
the perceived ineffectiveness of the protest that he had been organizing
and attending, led Rob to believe that ‘protest-as-usual’ was a waste of
time. He then made it his mission to develop anarchist networks throughout
Texas, and traveled within the entrails of the monster organizing and
revolutionizing. Through the 90s he lived in Portland, Oregon where he
worked with the Anarchist Info Shop, and spent time in Columbia, Missouri,
where he helped to publish Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, and
Alternative Press Review, as well as working on book projects of the
Columbia Alternative Library Press.

By the late 90s, Rob began to reexamine his anarchist ideas in order to
redirect his efforts to create a life in line with his desire for a
liberated existence. He also became a father (to his daughter Raven) and
abandoned urban existence to ‘rediscover a simpler way of life’ that
included low impact gardening techniques, eco-friendly architecture, and
low-tech living in the woods of southern Oregon

On June 16, 1999, Rob Los Ricos traveled to Eugene, Oregon to attend an
anarchist conference and a Reclaim the Streets festival. Arrested by
police during the June 18 Reclaim the Streets demonstration-turned-police
riot, Rob was accused of throwing a rock at a cop, and was subsequently
beaten by police. He was ultimately charged with rioting, first degree
assault, and second degree assault. Used as a Latino, out of towner,
anarchist scapegoat example of what can happen to those who dare to rebel,
Rob was given a nearly 8 year prison sentence.

Determined to continue la lucha even while in the belly of the beast, Rob
and his supporters in Portland, Oregon formed the Anarchist Prisoners¹
Legal Aid Network, a resource-sharing and communication network for
incarcerated anarchists, and Rob continues to struggle and to dream and to
write.

- Not4Prophet


Body: Friday, July 28, 7 pm
Speaking event with Q+A to follow
Hosted by the Wayward Café and Left Bank Books Collectives


Rob Los Ricos Thaxton
Political Prisoner RELEASED!


On September 3, 1999, anarchist Robert Thaxton was sentenced on charges of
assault and riot. This was for his part in the June 18 International Day
of Action Against the Global Economy Reclaim the Streets action held in
Eugene, Oregon. Scapegoated for being Latino, an out-of-towner and an
anarchist, Rob received a seven-year prison sentence for the purpose of
example as a message to others who dare to rebel.

Rob is a Latino activist and anarchist organizer working with many
projects including CISPES, ACT-UP, pirate radio station KNON-FM, the
Palestine Solidarity Committee and Earth First! Robs work has been
published in Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and Alternative Press
Review. He has worked on book projects with the Columbia Alternative
Library Press.

$8 suggested donation. No one turned away for lack of $.
Wayward Café
901 NE 55th St. Seattle
(one block west of Roosevelt in the U-District)

statement by Lebanese CP On Israeli Attacks

Statement by Lebanese CP

Courtesy of M. Abu Nasr, translator:

**********

Circular of the Political Bureau of the Lebanese Communist Party on Current Developments for Party Organizations and Friends.

On Current Developments: The Fifth Day of the Aggression.

Since the start of the aggression our party has defined its position and stance as being at the head of those opposing with all possible means the aggression and the expected invasion. This aggression is a part of the Zionist-American plan for the region and is furthermore an act of aggression undertaken with international permission and cover, in particular that of the United States of America, which is using the Security Council and the United Nations as tools with which to exert pressure and control. The aggression also bases itself on compliance and collusion by official Arab regimes and takes advantage of the current atmosphere of political division inside Lebanon.

The aggression is continuing and expanding to cover several regions. It focuses particularly on the infrastructure and on inflicting human and civilian losses and igniting fires in many places, aiming thereby to apply psychological pressure on the resistance on the one hand, and to try to raise the volume of criticism and objection to the resistance on the other. This approach takes advantage of the general political atmosphere and of the stances taken by some of those in authority and by some political forces. The material losses are great, as are the human losses. Despite that, there is steadfastness, particularly in the south.

Despite the steadfastness - that has so far been seen in the strike on the Zionist warship off Beirut, the attacks on the cities and villages of Galilee, and the infliction of human losses in the ranks of the enemy causing Israel to fail to achieve sensitive military goals that would have raised the morale of its population and army - despite all this there is an international effort involving the United Nations, Europe, and France under US pressure aimed at securing political benefits from the aggression, such as the implementation of UN Resolution 1559, by holding negotiations and bringing in Israeli and international stipulations under the cover of the continued military operations.

In the event that this effort fails - and we believe that it will fail because of the high ceiling of conditions set by the Americans and Israelis, in particular their requirement that Hizballah must be broken up and its role completely ended which is their first step towards delivering a defeat or at least a major blow to the Syrian-Iranian axis - so far it appears that if an agreement on a cease-fire is reached that would be in the interests of the resistance and would be a type of defeat for Israel, which cannot now bear such a thing. Therefore we believe that the military operation will be relatively prolonged and could spread outside Lebanon's borders, in which case we would be faced with wholly different developments and trajectories that cannot now be predicted.

In any case, after 12 July the country has entered a whole new stage, the direction of which will emerge in the light of the outcome of the fighting. In case the resistance continues to be steadfast and Israel fails to achieve its aims, the country will enter a new equilibrium in which the side linked with the Syrian-Iranian axis will be in the position of greater strength, and Syria and Iran will once again have greater influence on political developments in Lebanon, while the other side shrinks back. In case the opposite occurs, the battle will be transformed into an internal struggle on the premise that the reason for such a Lebanese defeat would be the position of the internal enemy - something that would impel the country towards a new civil war as struggle erupts among sectarian groups trying to improve their shares of the confessional political system which would have been upset as a result of the results of the war and the attempts of certain sectarian groups inside the country to benefit from a Lebanese defeat.

On the basis of this assessment and in the interests safeguarding our country, we believe that the fundamental task is to confront the aggression with a comprehensive, cohesive patriotic stance, a stance that reinforces national unity. As a part of this the Lebanese authorities must not make any political concessions to the current and direct international pressures, while not hesitating to carry out rescue and aid operations. That is for their part. At the same time other internal political forces must refrain from advancing certain issues that the aggressor and his allies use for their benefit. They must direct political rhetoric at reinforcing steadfastness and resistance and frustrating the aims of the enemy. The steadfastness and resistance of the Lebanese people can change the balance of forces, and we propose the convening of a national meeting under this slogan.

This is the primary task that the leadership of the party has been working to realize and for which a series of political contacts have taken place: between Nabih Berri - Michel Aoun - the Progressive Socialist Party - Bahiyat al-Hariri - Salim al-Hoss.

The Party has also taken part in some of the meetings that were held on the initiative of other parties - al-Hoss, for example. It also has contacts for the sake of solidarity with political parties and forces outside the country. Solidarity declarations have been issued and actions have been organized in Greece, France, Bahrain, Canada, India, Italy, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, and Britain.

Party organizations in the South are taking part, within their capabilities, in strengthening steadfastness and resistance.

The Party is taking part in a campaign to bring aid via political and private organizations, in Beirut and the districts.

What is needed now:

1. To confront the aggression with all available means.

2. To increase the intensity of internal political work through activities, in particular in the areas not under threat.

3. To take part everywhere in the campaign to provide all appropriate and suitable forms of aid.

4. To intensify political work in the Party through general meetings and gatherings.

5. To have a fundraising campaign to support the steadfastness of our organizations and to cover the requirements of work.

The Political Bureau of the Lebanese Communist Party.

Beirut, 17 July 2006.

Arabic original.

http://www.lcparty.org/170706_9.htm

Paul Wright, Editor

Prison Legal News

972 Putney Rd. PMB 251

Brattleboro, VT 05301

(802) 257-1342

pwright@prisonlegalnews.org

www.prisonlegalnews.org

Seattle Office:

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Seattle, WA 98117

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